


Rhiain of the Lake

by ScarlettFAngell



Category: Original Work
Genre: Anal Sex, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Blow Jobs, Curse Breaking, Curses, Dubious Morality, Fae & Fairies, Fae Curses, Fae Magic, Faerie Cats, Faerie Instincts, Faerie-Human Interactions, Faeries - Freeform, Falling In Love, Light BDSM, Light Bondage, M/M, Mages, Magic, Minor Violence, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rough Foreplay, Rough Sex, Sex Magic, Sibling Bonding, Slow Burn, The Fae, Water Faeries, asking for help, but not that slow
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-24
Updated: 2019-08-24
Packaged: 2020-09-25 08:00:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20373373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScarlettFAngell/pseuds/ScarlettFAngell
Summary: Glyndwr ap Myrddin never believed in faeries or spirits until his sister came home one day rambling about a pretty, antlered lake spirit. Suspicious and doubtful, Glyn lets his sister show him the lake but discovers no lake spirit. That is, until Glyn is alone. The lake spirit, who reveals that his name is Rhiain, appears; androgynous and pretty with dark hair and dark eyes, and a temper to rival the gods. And he wants a favour from Glyn, something that only a mage can do. He wishes to break the curse that binds him to his lake.





	Rhiain of the Lake

**Author's Note:**

> I've been sitting on this idea for a few years and decided that I'm just gonna throw it out there and see what happens. Enjoy and whatnot! If you have seen it elsewhere, that's probably also me but let me know and I'll confirm. X

**Prologue  
  
** ** _The forest was quiet as Delwyn _ ** crept through the undergrowth, eyes fixed on the stag across the clearing from her. She stopped right on the edge of the clearing and drew her arm back, arrowhead steady as she aimed for the heart. The stag gave a little snort and jerked his head up. Delwyn froze, eyes wide. She watched in tense silence, arms shaking slightly, as the stag looked around the clearing, seemed to hesitate for a brief second and then took off.  
  
Delwyn swore, surging up into a run as she followed. It was awkward to try and sling the bow over her shoulder and put the arrow away while running, but she managed. The stag was bolting on her, and Glyn'd be so mad if she didn't come back with the stag, and Delwyn was determined to make her big brother happy. So she bolted after the fleeing stag like her life depended on it, heedless of the twigs and branches that scratched her as she ran.   
  
Green and brown merged into a messy blur as Delwyn ran, following after the stag as it bounded through the trees. Delwyn had to duck beneath branches or hop over logs to keep up. At one point, she even had to double back and find a new path. She was so mad that she thought she'd lost it until she found the stag's tracks again and began following it.   
  
Sighing, Delwyn followed the tracks. She'd lost sight of it, but the stag we surprisingly easy to track. Delwyn trudged off down the narrow, twisting deer path it appeared to be using, scowling. It was bad enough she'd spent the better part of two days finding it, only to lose it within minutes of finding it, but....going back to Glyn without the stag? He was going to be so disappointed. It was the last part of their family's little rite of adulthood. And Delwyn was determined to catch the stag.   
  
It was quite a surprise when the tracks abruptly disappeared, right as she reached a lake. Delwyn stopped short, fingering the bow slung over her shoulder. Where was the stag? Surely it just didn't...disappear? She frowned, scanning the edge of the lake and then the far shore. It wasn't a huge lake, but it was big enough for several horses to disappear into.   
  
Delwyn exhaled and crouched down on the shore, trailing her fingers over where the stag's prints disappeared into the water. Clearly, the stag had been there, but where had it gone from there? Delwyn tilted her head as she studied the tracks, thoroughly confused. She was going to have to do a lap of the lake to see if it had left from somewhere else.   
  
Before she even had a chance to move, the surface of the lake rippled. Delwyn went for her sword, dropping the bow to be able to move more freely. She backed up a couple steps until her back hit a tree. The lake was perfectly still. Delwyn tilted her head, frowning deeply.   
  
"What the..."   
  
The lake seemed absolutely serene, like nothing had happened. Delwyn pushed off the tree, taking a hesitant step forwards. The lake exploded upwards, drenching her in lake water and causing Delwyn to stumble backwards. Her foot caught on a tree root and Delwyn fell, landing hard on her ass. Thoroughly startled, she sat there for a moment, completely stunned and blinking lake water out of her eyes. When she finally focused on the lake again, there was a figure standing in the middle of it, bare feet settled lightly on the surface of the lake, which was still again.   
  
"Why were you following me?" boomed an annoyed, ambiguous voice and Delwyn flinched back, suddenly afraid. She blinked more water out of her eyes and focused on the figure as they approached her. "Answer me, little one, or I will take you to the depths of this lake and never let you go free!"   
  
Delwyn scrambled up onto her feet, holding her hands up to try and appear less threatening. "What are you talking about?" she asked, confused. "I was hunting a stag--" Delwyn cut herself off, finally catching a better look at the figure. She blinked, dumbfounded. They were very pretty with long, dark hair, thoroughly soaked and trailing down over their shoulders in a tangled mess, dark blue eyes, and very pale skin. What appeared to be a white dress clung to them, soaked but not see-through. It fell off both shoulders. Delwyn stared. "You're pretty."   
  
The figure froze up for a split second before they leaned down and put their face close to hers. Delwyn suddenly felt very, very small. "I'm pretty, am I?" they asked, giving her a vicious grin. "So now you find me pretty, hmm? When I'm in this form and not the stag?"   
  
"Wait," Delwyn said, as that sank in and her mind struggled to keep up. "You....you were the stag?"   
  
The figure snorted and gestured upwards. Delwyn glanced up, only just noticing the slightly glowing white antlers above the tumble of dark hair. "Indeed," the figure said, and sighed. "Why were you hunting me?"   
  
"My...my brother said it's a rite of passage," she muttered, feeling suddenly ashamed. "For our family. Into adulthood."   
  
"Hmm, is that so?" they murmured, and reached out to cup her cheek. The hand was freezing where it made contact with her skin, and Delwyn had to force herself to stay still. "I see. Well, then..."   
  
They made to pull away but Delwyn grabbed their hand, tugging them back. They turned towards her, raising a curious eyebrow. "What are you?" she whispered, looking them up and down. Disguised as a pretty stag? Wearing a dress, but not looking like a woman--there wasn't even the usual swell of breasts when she took a better look--and a voice like a shallow, fast-moving brook. "Please tell me--"   
  
They hesitated for a moment and then sighed, shaking her hand off. "I am Rhiain," they announced and gave her a little bow. "The spirit of this humble lake."   
  
Delwyn stared up at them with wide eyes. A lake spirit? Oh, dear... She was in a lot of trouble, then, for trying to hunt them. Delwyn dropped to her knees and bowed her head. "I'm very sorry, pretty spirit, for trying to hunt your stag form. That was incredibly rude of me! I promise, I will never try that again--"   
  
"Oh, do stop."   
  
"Huh?" She blinked dumbly and glanced up, only to find the lake spirit standing there with a scowl on their face and their arms crossed. "E-excuse me?"   
  
"I said stop," Rhiain said, and exhaled heavily. "You don't need to apologise, little one. You very clearly didn't know...but..." They hesitated, biting a lip as they seemed to consider what to say. "But. You are quite talented to track me all the way back to my lake."   
  
Delwyn blushed and avoided their gaze. Well, that was unexpected. She waved the praise off, shrugging. "I'm not that good. My brother is better."   
  
"Is he now?" the spirit asked, and Delwyn nodded, still not quite meeting their eyes. "Hmm... Then I have a request of you, Delwyn vch Myrddin. Will you do me the honour of at least listening to it?"   
  
That made her curious, so Delwyn looked up and met the lake spirit's dark blue eyes. "Ohhh, you want to ask me to do something for you?" she asked, and they nodded. "Ohh, alright. I can do that!"   
  
"Will you bring your brother here?" the spirit requested softly, eyes darting down to the edge of the lake, where water touched earth. "Please? He may be able to...help me with something..."   
  
Delwyn blinked. Well, Glyn _ was _ always complaining about the girls in the village, and not having anyone to talk to, and he was usually upset when all the village girls wanted was to get into his bed. Delwy tilted her head and considered the lake spirit. They were pretty, and they seemed like they really needed help and--well. Delwyn kind of wanted to see how Glyn'd react to her finding an actually, honest-to-gods lake spirit.   
  
"Alright!" she said, hoping up onto her feet enthusiastically. "I can do that! He'll love to meet you!"   
  
Rhiain offered her a sad little smile. Delwyn grinned back and turned to find her bow. And then she hesitated, frowning as she took note of something the spirit had said... Something it couldn't have known.   
  
"How did you know my name?" she asked, turning back, expecting to find Rhiain waiting patiently for her. Instead, the lake spirit was gone and the lake was back to a calm, serene little spot in the woods. "A-alright...either I really need to sleep or that was real...." She sighed, went to grab her bow and gave the lake one last, long look. "If you're real, I'll be back soon with Glyn..."   
  
With that, Delwyn turned and trudged off into the trees. She didn't bother looking back. If she had, she might've seen the dark head of hair and the faintly glowing antlers peeking up from the middle of the lake.


End file.
